Member-only story
How corporate greed caused the largest loss of intelligence in human history
More than 840,000,000 IQ points evaporated from the American people due to this scandal, yet few are aware of it.
What happened?
When we think of intelligence and cognition, the last thing that comes to mind is gasoline. However, the liquid gold we use to power most of our daily activities has impacted our health much more than you may realize. A century ago, during the roaring ‘20s, something incredible was born: the self starting car. For the first time, Americans could, at the simple press of a button with their foot, travel at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour. However, once the self-starting car grew in popularity, a problem began to emerge. The engines of automobiles using high octane fuel experienced damage through a phenomenon called knocking. Knocking occurs when gasoline prematurely combusts and can contribute to vehicle issues over time.
At first, ethanol was found to be an effective solution to the problem of knocking. However, once the prohibition became widespread, the production of and use of alcohol for this purpose became expensive, difficult, and less cost-effective than alternative measures. Furthermore, ethanol could not be patented for the purpose of improving gasoline. To address the newfound issues posed by knocking, low profitability, and the lack of access to ethanol, scientists at General Motors were put to work with the goal to optimize the chemical composition of fuel in a manner that would prevent its premature combustion without reliance on ethanol. After toiling in his lab attempting to address this very predicament, a scientist by the name of Thomas Midgely Jr. uncovered a potential solution capable of preventing the premature burning of gasoline that did not rely on banned alcohol. By adding a small, 1/1000 concentration of a compound called tetraethyl led to high octane fuel, Midgley realized that it was possible to cheaply reduce the degree of knocking in the engines of cars. Even though this mixture of gasoline and tetraethyl lead may have been dangerous, Midgley felt that it had the potential to earn him and his employer, General Motors, big bucks.
